Increasing the Elicitation of Truthful Information from Young Suspects: An Empirical Investigation of the Effects of Temporal Discounting

The criminal justice system relies heavily on eliciting truthful information from suspects to solve crimes. A paramount problem with this approach involves the questioning of young suspects. Numerous studies support the conclusion that youth is a risk factor for providing false information during police questioning. The present study examined the influence of temporal discounting (the tendency for individual’s behavior to be influenced more strongly by proximal than distal factors; Berns, Laibson, & Loewenstein, 2007; Critchfield & Kollins, 2001) and other developmental factors (i.e., impulse control, future orientation, and sensation seeking) thought to underlie youths’ increased interrogative vulnerability. In line with previous research examining developmental differences in confession decisions, it was predicted that youth would be more likely than adults to provide false admissions to escape the immediate consequences of the situation. Furthermore, it was predicted that youth demonstrating lower impulse control, deficits in future orientation, and increased sensation seeking would be most likely to engage in this tendency. Using a randomized experimental design 205 adult and youth participants were questioned about their engagement in 20 criminal and unethical behaviors. Participants were told responding “yes” or “no” to these questions would have either immediate consequences (i.e., answering a series of repetitive questions) or future consequences (i.e., meeting with a police officer in a few weeks). Analyses revealed evidence of temporal discounting: Participants provided more admissions when denials, rather than admissions, were punished with immediate consequences. Contrary to hypotheses, age, impulse control, future orientation and sensation seeking did not moderate this relationship. Similarly, hypotheses regarding the relationship between age group, impulse control, and future orientation were unsupported. Compared to adults, adolescents did not exhibit less impulse control or future orientation. The current study was the first to experimentally examine factors thought to underlie youths’ increased proclivity to provide false information in interrogation. Justice system involved youth may differ from youth in the current study in key ways that help explain the lack of support for study hypotheses. Because of these differences, it is imperative that future research focuses on youth who are most at risk of encountering the justice system as suspects

An analysis of the ramosa1 pathway in Zea mays utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts

Inflorescence architecture in Zea mays is affected by a large collection of interrelated genes. The ramosa genes are some of the most prominent and well-studied of these genes due to their overtly branched ear and tassel mutant phenotype. ramosa1 confers determinate, short-branch identity on branch meristems during their initiation. Several new genes are proposed to work directly with ramosa1. ail6 was identified from a Quantitative Trait Locus study to identify genes which enhance or suppress the ramosa1 branching phenotype. A Yeast-2-Hybrid study identified several genes as potential interactors with ramosa1. A CRISPR/Cas9 knockout study was performed to produce novel mutants to analyze this pathway. Two unique CRISPR expression arrays were utilized targeting 12 sites in five genes. Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation was used for transfection of Hi-II immature embryos. Both arrays functioned, and mutations were acquired in all five genes. Specifically, thirteen unique mutations have been detected in the ramosa1 gene, and in the other four genes we detected eight, 16, four and one mutation. A total of 112 plants were recovered and crossed into a B104, B73 or B73 ra1-63 background

BIOBIO – Betriebsmanagement-Indikatoren für Biodiversität in biologischen und extensiven Anbausystemen

In dem EU FP7-Projekt „BioBio“ soll ein allgemeines Set von Indikatoren für Biodiversität in biologischen und extensiven Anbausystemen in Europa entwickelt und getestet werden. Neben direkten Indikatoren für Habitat-, Arten- und genetische Diversität werden auch indirekte Indikatoren zur Bewirtschaftung der landwirtschaftlichen Betriebe und Flächen erfasst. In Fallstudien wird der Zusammenhang zwischen den ausgewählten Indikatoren, den Betriebsystemen und direkten Indikatoren untersucht. Die Auswahl der Indikatoren erfolgte nach wissenschaftlichen Kriterien sowie nach Gesichtspunkten der Praktikabilität und Anwendbarkeit. Hauptergebnis des Projektes wird ein Handbuch mit Factsheets der ausgewählten Indikatoren sein

Regenwurmvorkommen auf konventionellen und ökologisch bewirtschafteten Ackerbaubetrieben im Marchfeld, Ostösterreich

Auf acht konventionell und acht ökologisch wirtschaftenden Ackerbaubetrieben im Marchfeld / Niederösterreich wurden im Frühjahr 2010 in allen festgestellten Habitattypen Regenwürmer erhoben. Es wurden v.a. endogäische Arten (Aporrectodea rosea, Aporrectodea caliginosa, Allolobophora chlorotica) gefunden. Weder das Bewirtschaftungssystem noch die Art der Bodenbearbeitung hatten einen Einfluss auf die Regenwurmabundanz. Anözische Regenwürmer wurden überwiegend auf naturnahen Habitaten gefunden. Ihre Abundanz könnte durch eine Erhöhung des Anteils dieser Habitattypen auf den Betrieben gefördert werden

Hail Damage – Grain Quality Survey

There were two major hail events this summer during grain fill that resulted in significant corn crop damage in the path of the storm. The damage occurred over several thousand acres with some fields being a total loss and other fields having varying degrees of damage. This resulted in several crop hail damage meetings across the state to help farmers make informed harvest decisions. A common question from farmers and grain merchandisers dealt with grain quality issues. Specifically, what impact will the hail damage have on grain quality, ear rot severity and mycotoxin contamination in my corn crop

Measuring farmland biodiversity

About one-third of the world’s land surface is used for farming, a fact that bears important implications for biodiversity. In Europe, for instance, an estimated 50 percent of all wild species are reliant on agricultural habitats, while agricultural productivity often depends on the presence or absence of particular species. Despite this close coupling, surprisingly little is known about the status and evolution of farmland biodiversity. A team of European and African researchers, hoping to fill this gap in information, recently invented and piloted a new toolbox called the BioBio indicator set, which measures 23 different instances of biodiversity across a variety of farm types and scales in Europe. Applications were also tested in Tunisia, Ukraine, and Uganda, where they proved a feasible starting point for adaptation to the agricultural context of different countries